BULLETIN No. 36 67 



ing the Halliday House. The outlook seemed in a measure 

 promising. 



But, sadly enough, the rain came down again, serving well 

 in dampening my budding spirits, as well as very conscientiously 

 holding me in check for the balance of the forenoon — the re- 

 sult being that the greater part or my plans were forced to be 

 abandoned. But the bottom-lands, heretofore alluded to, were 

 still kept in mind with the full determination to visit them if 

 possible. 



In describing further in detail this piece of low ground it 

 is well to remark that it is subjected periodically to the rises or 

 oveflows of the two great rivers which, when confined within 

 their banks, serves to form its boundaries on two sides. In 

 its present condition it is therefore practically worthless, aside 

 from the little pasturage it affords during the time the waters 

 are down. 



A thick and scarcely unbroken stand of Cottonwood ap- 

 pears to cover its surface, beneath which is a rank and almost 

 impenetrable growth of ragweed — save where the cow- 

 paths, roadways and small clearings have been made — much of 

 which impressed me as being' unusually tall, arguing well, as 

 I thought, for the fertility of the soil. Here and there a honey 

 locust has sprung up, breaking in a slight degree the distinc- 

 tive feature of tree growth given to it by the cottonwood. 

 Along the river-front there are some willows, among which the 

 black (5. nigra) seemed to be the prevailing form. 



A meandering roadway perhapsoriginally a cow-path, leads 

 from the R. R. track on the Levy to the river, where a govern- 

 ment signal-light has been placed. This was selected for my 

 throughfare. 



Upon leaving the R. R. the first bird to force his acqaint- 

 ance upon me was the Jay, who of course, as usual, did not 

 lose much time in making himself known. But one of these 

 noisy chaps, however was seen. 



Two Bronzed Crackles were met with shortly after this 

 and, from their actions, led me to conjecture the reason for the 

 sparsity of bird life in this otherwise promising place, and 

 due, as I afterwards supposed, to the abundance of colored- 



